Belief
by LinariteLavanya
Summary: Aminta is an Exorcist from Italy whose mentor just died. She is transferred to the main European Branch, where she meets Allen and the others. But a new enemy is on the rise, one that threatens the entire planet. Eventual LavixOC. -ON TEMPORARY HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1: As Unapproachable As Fire

**A/N: Greetings, all. Welcome to the first chapter of Belief. This story, like most of my stories, is OC-centric, but the main character isn't a Mary Sure of any kind, I promise. She does have unique traits, but nothing that's out of place in the D. Grayman universe. :D I apologize for any OOC-ness the main characters may show; this is my first D. Grayman fic and I'm not as well-versed in their behaviors as the I am in the behaviors of characters from my other fandoms. Anyway, review when you're done please! I appreciate any and all feedback. :) **

* * *

Chapter 1: _As Unapproachable As Fire_

"Who is she?" Lenalee asked, looking at Lavi from across the table. "This new Exorcist who's being brought in?"

The redhead shrugged, poking at his bowl of oatmeal distractedly. "No idea. Word has it that she's coming in from Italy. Beyond that, who knows?"

Kanda glanced at Lavi, looking only half-interested. "You're a Bookman. Aren't you supposed to know these things?"

Lavi grinned. "Come on, Yuu. You can't expect me to know _everything_."

Kanda glared at him, but said nothing else.

Lenalee glanced between the two of them nervously, relieved that Kanda had settled for an angry glare; more often than not when someone called him by his first name the person in question was hard-pressed to avoid Kanda's wrath, typically in the form of his sword Mugen.

"Where's Allen?" Lavi asked suddenly, craning his neck around to scan the dining hall.

Lenalee blinked. "Huh?" She looked around. "I don't know." She frowned. "Kanda?"

He snorted. "Where that stupid beansprout is isn't any of my business."

"It's breakfast, though," Lenalee felt compelled to point out. "So isn't it odd for him not to be here?"

Kanda just shrugged.

* * *

Far from the hubbub of the morning meal, a young woman of eighteen walked down a deserted hall, carrying only a knapsack that was slung over her shoulder.

_Komui Lee_, she thought to herself, recalling the slip of paper she'd been handed after she'd arrived.

_Go see Chief Officer Lee_, she'd been told. _He'll finalize your transfer. _

_Never mind that I didn't want to transfer here in the first place. _She scowled. Staying in Italy would be so much easier. But no. The Order had insisted she relocate to the main European Branch in England.

She sighed, and turned the corner without looking. She promptly crashed into someone going the other way. They both crashed to the ground.

"Ow..." the other person groaned. "You're in a hurry, I guess, huh?"

She rubbed her forehead and made a face. "Looks like you are, too."

To her surprise, the other person laughed. "Yeah, I am. I'm late for breakfast."

She actually looked at the other person for the first time. A boy around her age, with pale skin and gray-silver eyes and white hair.

_Is that a tattoo?_ she wondered, noticing the red marking on the side of his face. Her Innocence took the form of various tattoos when it wasn't active, hence her long sleeves, but despite her familiarity with them, she couldn't determine if the mark on this boy's face was a tattoo or something else.

"I'm Allen Walker," the boy said, standing up and offering her a hand.

She frowned, looking up at him.

"Come on," he insisted, still holding out his hand. "Let me help you up."

"I don't need help," she answered, standing up on her own and brushing herself off.

He shrugged, still smiling. "I guess you don't." He looked at her curiously. "Are you a new clerk or something? I haven't seen you around here before."

She scowled. "I'm an Exorcist," she responded, straightening the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

He blinked, surprised. "Ehh? Really? You aren't dressed like one."

She made a face. She couldn't exactly argue that. Instead of the standard Exorcist uniform that Allen was wearing, she was dressed in a dark gray long-sleeved turtleneck sweater and black jeans. She just shrugged.

To her surprise, Allen laughed. "You aren't very talkative, are you?"

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards despite herself. "Not really."

He smiled. "What's your name?"

"Aminta," she responded.

"No last name?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head. "Not anymore."

"Ah." He nodded. "I understand."

Oddly, she believed that he really did understand. He actually looked sincere, unlike everyone else who had said that same exact thing to her; they had clearly just been trying to act sympathetic. This Allen, though...he seemed to get it.

"So," he continued, not seeming bothered by her lack of conversation. "Is there someplace you're on your way to? I can walk you."

She stared at him. _Nice timing._ "Actually, I am. Can you help me find Komui Lee?"

"Lenalee's big brother? Sure." He pointed over his shoulder. "His office is back this way."

_Well, at least I was heading in the right direction._ "Thank you." She stepped past him.

"You're welcome." He felt into step beside her, seemingly serious about escorting her. "What do you need to see Komui for?"

"I was told to talk to him to finalize my transfer."

"You're transferring here?" Allen asked, surprised.

She nodded.

"Huh...That's nice." He smiled.

_Not for me._ "I suppose."

They lapsed into mutual silence, which Aminta was actually grateful for. She'd spent so long with just her teacher for company, she wasn't used to talking to other people. As they walked, though, she wondered why Allen hadn't asked about her eyes. She was fairly certain her bangs weren't quite long enough to completely obscure the mismatched colors. And he had seemed so curious about everything else. Maybe he simply didn't find her eyes interesting?

_Or maybe he's just trying to be polite_, she reasoned. _After all, he has that weird mark. He probably doesn't like being asked about it, and figures I'm the same about my eyes._

Which was, if she were being completely honest, absolutely true. The last person to comment on her eyes had been some unsuspecting fruit vendor she'd bought an apple from last week on her trip here. He'd said something along the lines of 'Young Missy, didja know that your eyes are different colors?'. Her response had been to punch him in the face. Her verbal response would have been a decidedly snarky 'No, I seem to have not noticed that in the last eighteen years of my life'. But that didn't have quite the impact of a punch and wasn't nearly as satisfying for her temper, which seemed to spark off at the slightest mention of her eyes.

"I thought you were late for breakfast," she said after the silence had dragged on for too long.

He seemed startled by her speaking first, but smiled. "Yeah, I am. But I figured it's better to walk a pretty girl to her important meeting than just leave her on her own."

She stared at him, completely baffled. "What?"

"You heard me."

She flushed, though whether from irritation or embarrassment she couldn't say. "Don't say things like that!"

He laughed. "You're easy to tease, Aminta."

She glared at him, not dignifying his comment with a response.

"Here's Komui's office," Allen said cheerfully a short time later, gesturing to the door in question.

"...Thank you."

He smiled. "It was no trouble. Good luck with finalizing your transfer," he added as she moved to open the door. "Maybe we can work together sometime."

"Maybe," she agreed, and then stepped into the office.

"Hello?" she called uncertainly. She couldn't spot anyone in the office.

"Back here!" a cheerful voice called.

She blinked, and peered at the stacks of paperwork piled on the desk across the room.

Squinting, she could just make out a thin man sitting behind the desk, scrawling his signature at the bottom of a pamphlet.

"That's a lot of paperwork," she blurted, staring at the stacks. _Those have to be at least three feet high!_

"Yes, yes. It is, isn't it?" The man pushed one of the stacks to the side so they could see each other more easily. "I was away on business until just recently, and it seems like things have stacked up in my absence." He chuckled. "Quite literally stacked, as you can see."

"You're...Komui Lee?" she asked hesitantly. The man behind the desk looked, to put it bluntly, like a bookworm. On the thin side, he had shoulder length black hair and glasses. _And are those bunny slippers? _

"My sister says my feet smell when I wear shoes," Komui explained easily, noticing her stare. "So I've taken to wearing slippers instead. Normally they aren't quote like this," he wiggled a pink-slippered foot, "but I seem to have misplaced my usual pair."  
"Maybe they're under the paperwork," she managed, still feeling oddly overwhelmed. _What the hell is this? The Chief Officer wears slippers? What kind of place is this?_

Komui laughed. "Maybe they are. Now, you're...Aminta, correct?"

She nodded.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for your loss."

She bit her lip, thought of a hundred different things to say, and instead simply nodded again.

Komui didn't seem to find that odd, and didn't comment on it. He reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out several sheets of paper.

"This is the last of your transfer paperwork. Once you sign, it means you'll be under the direct jurisdiction of this branch. You'll be sent out on specific missions with other Exorcists. Not just getting vague orders like when you were in Italy. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Here you are, then." He held out the papers. "I'll have someone arrange something later so you can meet some of the other Exorcists who are around your age."

She rummaged in her pocket for a pen and quickly scrawled her name at the bottom of the pages. "That's not necessary," she said.

Komui shook his head. "No, no, I insist. You'll need to meet them eventually. You'll be working with them, after all. You might as well get to know each other now." He smiled brightly. "My sister is about your age. I hope you two become good friends."

"Mm...sure." She managed a thin smile. Making friends wasn't something she was remotely skilled at.

She handed the papers back, stuffing the pen back into her pocket. "Is that it?" she asked.

He nodded briskly, straightening out the papers. "It is. We weren't sure when you were arriving, so we don't have a room ready for you yet."

"That's alright; I can wait."

He beamed. "You're such a good girl, Miss Aminta." He tucked her paperwork away. "Why don't you go join everyone else in the dining hall? There should still be some food for breakfast if you're hungry."

"No, thank you." She shook her head. "Is there a library or a study somewhere?"

"Do you like books?" Komui asked curiously.

She lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. "I like knowing things. Books help with that."

"Hmm. I see." Komui scribbled something in the margin of a sheet of paper. "There's a small study four doors from here. Why don't you wait there? I'll send someone to get you when your room is ready."

"Okay. Thank you."

She wandered down the hall, counting doors. Opening the fourth, she saw that it was indeed a study. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and there was a large wooden desk in the far corner. Aside from that, there were two dark green sofas and one burgundy armchair. _They couldn't be bothered to find a matching chair? _She sighed. _I suppose the Order has better things to do than worry about interior decorating. _

She strolled along the shelves, trailing her fingers along the book spines. She paused at a book of poems. She recognized the poet's name; Yolanda had been extremely fond of quoting his work.

Yolanda...

_Stop that_, she ordered herself sternly. _Moping won't bring her back. Move forward. That's what she would want. _

She grabbed a romance novel instead of the book of poems, despite her preference for more action-oriented stories. She dropped her bag on the floor and flopped down onto one of the couches, crossing her legs and putting her feet up on the armrest.

She was on page eighty-nine when someone else came into the study. The main character, Sarah something-or-other, had just been locked away in a dungeon while her love interest was on the run from an evil queen who wanted to use his blood for some sort of spell.

"That a good book?"

_I was just getting to the good part_, she thought irritated. She looked over to see who was bothering her.

Leaning in the door was a tall young man with bright red hair and an eye patch over his right eye. His visible eye was bright green.

"Who're you?" she demanded, realizing that she was being rude but not caring overmuch.

The redhead arched an eyebrow. "I'm Lavi. I was sent to get you."

"Get me?" she repeated, frowning. "Oh, my room's ready?"

"Your royal chambers await, my lady," Lavi said with a grin, sweeping her a bow.

She gave him a half-smile and stood. Then she frowned, looking back at the book.

"Something wrong?" Lavi asked, looking at her curiously.

She sighed, and tossed the book down onto the couch. _The ending's probably lousy anyway_, she reasoned, ignoring the disappointed twinge in her chest. It had been a long time since she'd had a chance to relax and read a book, and now she'd never have a chance to finish the story. "Nothing." She stretched her arms above her head, snatched up her bag, and went to stand in front of the redhead. "So you're Lavi, huh?"

"Yep." He nodded. "You're Aminta, right? The transfer from Italy."

"You know who I am?" she asked as she followed him out of the room and down the hall.

"Not a clue," he answered cheerfully. "Which is actually pretty rare. Congratulations on your anonymity."

"Thanks?" she offered, not sure what to say. _I really need to work more on human interaction. This is getting ridiculous. _Half the time she spent talking to people was her being confused about how to answer something they said.

"Here's your room," Lavi said as they stopped in front of another featureless wooden door.

"Are all the doors here the same?" she asked without thinking, and winced. That was an incredibly stupid question.

To her surprise, Lavi laughed. "Pretty much, yeah. Don't worry, though, you'll get used to it."

"Mm," she said noncommittally, frowning at her door.

"Komui also said to tell you that there's a meeting in an hour."

She looked at him, confused. "A meeting?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "He wants you to meet some of the other Exorcists."

Ah. Right." She made a face.

"Not a people person, I take it?" He leaned against the wall and regarded her with interest.

She gave her standard response: a shrug. "I haven't really had many chances to socialize."

"Huh. Well, I'm sure you'll get along well with everyone. And with everyone I just mean Lenalee and Allen. Kanda's probably gonna try to kill you right off; you seem too similar to get along well. As for Krory and Miranda...well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

She stared at him. "The only names I recognized out of all that were Allen and Lenalee."

"Do you know them?" Lavi asked, looking surprised.

She shook her head. "Komui mentioned Lenalee; she's his sister, right? As for Allen...well, I met him on my way to meet Komui."  
"Really?" Lavi didn't seem to believe her.

"Unless there's another Allen around," she said crossly. "The one I met was around our age, white hair, silver eyes? Any of this sounding familiar?"

Lavi grinned. "Yeah, that's the beansprout, definitely."  
She frowned, confused. "Beansprout?"

"'Cause he's short," Lavi explained.

"He's taller than I am!" she protested.

"By about an inch." Lavi looked her over, and nodded. "Yeah, by about an inch."

"It's still a perfectly normal height," she argued.

Lavi just shrugged. "Don't blame me; take it up with Kanda. He's the one who calls Allen that."

"Isn't Kanda the one who might try to kill me?" she asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

He flashed a smile. "Did I say that?"

She smirked. "You did."

"I'm surprised you were paying that close of attention."

"I pay attention to everything," she answered.

He titled his head. "Is that so."

"It is." She opened her door, pausing only to turn around for a moment. "This meeting...will you be there?"

He gave her another smile, though this one had an emotion she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Of course. I'm an Exorcist, aren't I?" He gestured to his uniform.

"Do all of you wear those?" she asked, eying the uniform like another person might look at a pit full of slime.

Lavi seemed amused by her distaste. "Got something against the uniform?"

"See you at the meeting, Lavi," she said, ignoring his question. She closed the door.

"It was nice meeting you," the Bookman called through the door.

He heard what might have been a sigh, but aside from that the new girl gave no answer.

She was, he decided, definitely interesting. On the surface, her attitude seemed to be similar to Kanda's, but he got a feeling there was more to her than that; the little details he'd noticed about her seemed to indicate that her real personality was buried somewhere underneath her stand-offish attitude. And her appearance was interesting as well. Komui had told him that this girl, Aminta, was an Exorcist, but she didn't wear the uniform; instead she was dressed in a loose sweater and jeans, and didn't seem eager to wear a uniform anytime soon. And her eyes...

Her right eye was bright blue, like a sapphire, while her left eye was purple. He wondered whether she was deliberately trying to grow the bangs of her dark brown hair out to hide them for view or if that was just how she liked her hair. He could certainly understand how she might want to obscure her eyes; the mismatched colors was the sort of thing some people made a fuss over.

_Well_, he thought, _I suppose I could always ask her about her eyes, and find out that way._ But then she shook his head. Is she really was similar to Kanda, that course of action would likely to end badly. _Oh well. I'm sure it'll come up in conversation sooner or later. _

* * *

An hour later, a knock came on her door. She looked up from the clothes she'd been folding; she'd stalled in unpacking the belongings in her bag, instead choosing to look at sunset from her window.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened and Allen entered.

"Hello again," he said, smiling.

"Allen," she said, surprised. "Hi."

"I came to get you. The 'Welcome Aminta' meeting is about to start."

She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

He laughed, and then pointed to the garment she was holding. "So you _do_ have a uniform, after all."

She wrinkled her nose. "Yes, I do." She finished folding it and proceeded to stuff it into a dresser drawer.

"Eventually someone's going to tell you to wear it," Allen remarked.

"I don't doubt it." She gave up on folding the rest of her clothes and just dumped them into another drawer.

"You'd make a terrible housewife," Allen teased.

She laughed before she could stop herself. "Absolutely."

Allen looked surprised at her laughter and his surprise wasn't unwarranted; hell, _she_ was surprised), but happy. "Shall we go?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

Allen led her to a spacious room that had some other people waiting inside. One of them was girl around her height, with dark hair and eyes; she resembled Komui Lee, and Aminta realized that this must be his sister, Lenalee.

Lenalee was talking to another young woman, this one with brown hair that was a shadow darker than her own, which Aminta was surprised by. Her hair was darker than average; she'd never seen someone with hair darker than hers without being black.

_And speaking of black hair...that must be the notorious Kanda. _Looking at him, she could see how the 'bean sprout' comment had come about; Kanda was by far the tallest teenager in the room; she'd guess he was somewhere around 5'9". _Which is four inches taller than me. Ugh. _She was also a little jealous over his hair; long and black it went all the way down his back even tied back.

And there was Lavi, of course, with his bright hair and eye patch. Standing next to him was someone she didn't recognize (though _that_ was hardly surprising). This person had dark hair with a white streak, and pointy ears.

_A gothic elf?_ she mused. _Or maybe just a vampire._ _Hm. Interesting either way, I suppose. _

He was also clearly older than the rest of them. She'd guess somewhere in his twenties; he was over six feet tall.

"We're here, everyone," Allen announced, getting their attention.

"She's the new Exorcist?" Kanda asked in disbelief, looking her over.

"It's very nice to meet you," Lenalee said, holding out her hand. "I'm Lenalee, and this is Miranda." She nodded to the young woman next to her.

Aminta hesitated, then shook Lenalee's hand, remembering Komui's 'become good friends' wish earlier.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Miranda blurted.

Aminta felt Allen stiffen next to her, at same time noticing Lavi's sharp gaze, as if he were interested in her answer. Of course, she only dimly noticed these things; the larger part of her mind was locked in a punch-vs.-don't-punch loop.

_I just met her; punching her in the face is not conducive to starting a friendship._

_Ah, who needs friends? Might as well punch her._

_...But how would everyone else react? Might be starting a fight I can't win. _

_Punch her anyway. Deal with the consequences later. _

_No, _she told herself sternly, trying to quash her violent impulse.

"What's wrong with my eyes?" she asked coolly. She knew her voice was frosty, but she couldn't help it. It was either be cold or be violent; she didn't have much middle ground when it came to her temper.

Miranda seemed to realize that she'd asked an unwelcome question. "I'm sorry!" she said anxiously. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything it's just...Your eyes are very pretty." She smiled nervously.

Aminta blinked, fury ebbing. She could count on one hand how many times she'd been complimented on her eyes. Not counting Miranda, it totaled at four people. The three merchants she'd traveled with until the Order had recruited her, and...Yolanda.

Not sure how to respond, she just gave a jerky sort of nod and turned away.

"This is Krory," Lenalee said, continuing her introductions as if nothing had happened. She pointed to the gothic elf/vampire, who nodded at her. "And this is Kanda." She gestured to the black-haired teen, who just looked at Aminta. She couldn't decide if the look in his eyes was a challenge or just arrogance.

"Something wrong?" she drawled, giving him an insolent look. She could be as irritating as hell if she wanted to be. Yolanda had often said that she could provoke violence from a butterfly if she tried. It's two parts acting and one part you, Yolanda had said. Aminta had to agree. The arrogance and insolence was acting, while the snarkiness and sarcasm was something she had naturally in abundance.

He glared at her. "Are you really the new Exorcist?" he demanded, his tone indicating that he didn't believe it.

Her smirk widened. "Does it bother you?"

"Tch."

"I'll take that as a yes." She cocked her head to one side, like a curious dog. "Why?"

"I'm sure Kanda doesn't mean anything by it," Lenalee said hastily, clearly trying to diffuse the situation. "You just don't look like we thought you would, is all. You're not wearing a uniform," she added.

"I told you she wouldn't be," Lavi pointed out.

"So did I," Allen chimed in.

Lenalee heaved a sigh. "All I'm saying is that...well, you're not quite what we were expecting."

"Huh. How flattering. I always love being a disappointment, thank you." She gave a little bow.

Lenalee flushed. "That's not what I meant at all!"

She shrugged. "If you say so."

"I really didn't mean-"

"What's your Innocence?" Kanda interrupted.

She flickered a look at him. "Does it matter?"

"You're an Exorcist who's going to be assigned to work with us. It matters, so tell us." His eyes narrowed. "Unless you don't have one."

She put her hands on her hips. "I just don't see what business it is of yours. If we do get assigned on missions together, you'll see it. If not, then you won't." She shrugged. "I'm not a liability, if that's what you're worried about. I can more than handle myself in battle."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow challengingly.

She smiled thinly. "I'd offer to play with you a bit, but I think I might get in trouble if I accidentally broke you."

"What was that?" he demanded, lunging at her, while Lavi jumped forward to grab a hold of his arm.

"You heard me." She smirked.

Lavi, still latched onto Kanda, flashed her a grin. "I guess I was right, huh?"

"To be fair, I did provoke him," she reasoned.

"You seem to be good at that. Provoking people, I mean."

She shrugged. "It's gift."

"Are you done trying to kill the new girl now?" Lavi asked, looking at Kanda.

"Tch." Kanda just glared at them both.

But Lavi seemed to read more out of Kanda's demeanor than she did, because he let him go.

"You're a brat," Kanda said, looking at her.

"My teacher would agree," she said, before wincing a bit. _Yolanda..._

"Your teacher?" Miranda looked at her curiously. "Who's your teacher?"

But Aminta shook her head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."

"What're you talking about, of course it matters!"

"No," Aminta said curtly. "It doesn't. She's dead."

An oppressive silence fell over the room. And then...

"I'm so sorry..." Miranda whispered.

She shrugged. "Whatever."

Miranda frowned. "Don't you care?"

"Will caring bring her back?" Aminta asked flatly, her voice devoid of any emotion.

No one seemed to have anything to say to that.

Without another word, she spun on her heel and left the room.

_That meeting couldn't have gone worse if I'd started attacking people_, she thought blackly.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's Chapter 1. Not some of my best writing, but it's not entirely horrible, at least. XD Review and let me know what you think, please. :D**


	2. Chapter 2: Marks of Distinction

**A/N: Well, here's Chapter 2 of Belief. My thanks to Synk, RedTheAmazing, butterflysopia, Jackson-Robinson44, and perso rosa, as well as anyone else who has reviewed, added this story to your alerts or favorited; you're all personally thanked on my profile page (you may have to scroll a bit if you go there and try to find your name, though; that section on my profile's gotten rather lengthy XD; I update that thank you list regularly...well, semi-regularly XD). Additionally, as for when this story takes place...sometime after Lenalee's dark Boots turn to Crystal type but before Allen is arrested and flees the Order. Just in case anyone was wondering. It's not really important, but sometimes people wonder, you know? :D**

**Anyhow, enjoy this chapter, and please review when you're done. :)**

* * *

Chapter 2: Marks of Distinction

Aminta stalked down the halls angrily, but was forced to admit after fifteen minutes of walking that she didn't actually know how to get back to her room. _Well, isn't this just wonderful._

She looked around, scowling. _Where the hell am I? All the halls and doors look the same. _

"If you keep making that face," a teasing voice said, "your face'll freeze that way."

She spun around and saw Lavi leaning against the wall. _I didn't even hear him come up behind me. _

"It'd be a shame if your face was stuck in that awful grimace all the time," Lavi continued cheerfully. She eyed him warily. "And why is that?"

He smiled. "It's a pretty face."

She flushed angrily. "Stop jerking me around."

His smile widened. "You're blushing."

She glared daggers at him. "I'm not."

"Doesn't look like that from where I'm standing."

"Then stand somewhere else," she snapped, turning back around and starting off down the hall.

Lavi quickly caught up to her and soon they were walking side by side. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"My room," she said curtly.

"Huh."

"What?" she demanded.

"Well, nothing. It's just that your room is, you know, back that way." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction they had come from.

She stopped walking and glared at him.

"Don't look at me like that," Lavi chided. "You're the one who stormed off in a huff."

"I'm not in a huff," she huffed.

He smiled. "Uh-huh. Sure you're not."

"Can you take me to my room or not?"

He shrugged easily. "Of course." He held out his arm at an angle. "My lady?" he said teasingly.

She wrinkled her nose at him, and he laughed.

"Come on now," he insisted, still holding out his arm. "I should escort you properly."

She rolled her eyes but complied, putting her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"There," he said, "Was that really so hard?"  
She just shook her head.

"So," Lavi began a short time later as they navigated the hallways. "Where in Italy are you from?"

She relieved that he was asking about a safe topic; she'd been expecting him to ask about her dead teacher. "I was born in Venice," she answered. "But I traveled around a lot after my parents died."

"How old were you when they passed away?" he asked, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Twelve."

"I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. "That must have been hard for you."

She shrugged. "It was at first, but I fell in with some traveling merchants who looked after me."

"Good people?"

She nodded. "The best." The head merchant, a man called Antonio, had caught her trying to steal food from one of his stalls, and instead of punishing her or turning her over to the _polizia_ he'd given her some bread and fruit and told her to come back the next day for more. They'd repeated this for several days, until Antonio and his assistants, two twin sisters named Adriana and Angelina, had needed to move on from Venice. She still remembered that day...

_Aminta, come with us, bambina_, Antonio had said.

_We could use another person_, Angelina had agreed. _It's been getting lonely with just the three of us. _

_You would brighten our travels_, Adriana had encouraged. _Come with us, please._

So she had. "I spent the next couple years traveling with them."

"And then?"

"The Order found me," she said simply. "When we were traveling around, we somehow ran into some Akuma. They attacked us, and my Innocence activated. The Order got wind of it, and they tracked me down."

"And you joined," he finished.

She gave a half-smile. "Didn't have much of a choice, did I? The Order's pretty keen on getting as many Exorcists as possible. If I hadn't agreed, they probably would have found another way to make me agree, right?"

Lavi acknowledged that with a nod.

"Then what?" he asked.

"What is this?" she said, irritated. "Twenty questions, the life story version?" She looked at him crossly.

"Take it easy." Lavi patted her hand. "I'm just curious, that's all."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "It's my business to know things."

She scowled at him.

"We're here," Lavi announced, apparently not intimidated by her glare. "Maybe you should put a sign up," he suggested. "You could tell your door apart from the others then."

She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or not, so she just ignored him.

She was about to close her door in his face again when suddenly his hand shot out and stopped the door.

"...You need something?" she asked, eying him mistrustfully.

He reached into his jacket and then pulled out a book.

She frowned. "What's that?"

He held it out towards her. "What's it look like?"

"A book."  
He grinned. "I'm glad you think so, because that's what it is. Here." He pushed it into her hand.

She turned it over, and saw that it was the same book she'd been reading earlier. "Why did you..."

"Bring it?" He shrugged. "No reason, really. You just had that 'damn, I won't find out what happens at the end' look earlier when I came to get you."

She stared at the book. _He brought the book because he thought I'd want to finish reading it?_ She found the gesture...touching, somehow. "Thank you," she said quietly. "That was very kind of you."

He regarded her seriously. "You actually mean that."

She smirked. "I try to always mean what I say."

"It just doesn't always happen that way?"

She snorted. "Something like that."

* * *

"She's irritating," Kanda said.

"I think she's interesting," Allen disagreed.

Miranda fidgeted. "She seems sort of...I don't know...abrasive?" She bit her lip anxiously.

"It does seem like she has a chip on her shoulder," Lenalee agreed hesitantly.

Allen shrugged. "So she's like a girl version of Kanda."

"...what was that, beansprout?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, the name's Allen!""

Lavi came into the lounge to see Allen and Kanda at each others throats, with Lenalee in the middle trying to pry them apart.

"Whoa, whoa." He waved his hands. "Guys, cool it. You're squishing Lenalee."

The girl in question gave a sigh, and pushed at the two bickering boys. "You heard him. Back up a bit, please."

Kanda snorted, but took a single step back. Allen just smiled at Lenalee.

"Sorry, Lenalee."

She blushed. "It's fine. Just...be more careful, okay?"

"What are you guys fighting about this time, anyway?" Lavi slouched in in armchair.

"That new Exorcist, Aminta," Krory answered.

"Technically, she's not a new Exorcist, though, is she?" Miranda looked over at Lavi. "She was fighting Akuma over in Italy until now, right?"

"Until her teacher died," Lavi agreed.

Lenalee winced. "That's terrible. She must be really torn up over it..."

Kanda crossed his arms. "She doesn't act like it."

"Oh, come on, Kanda." Allen shook his head. "Would you act all weepy if one of us died?"

"No," was the immediate answer.

"But you'd still be upset," Lenalee insisted.

Kanda shrugged.

Allen sighed. "I'm sure Aminta's the same. She's probably still mourning. She's just not showing it."

"It would explain the dreary clothes," Miranda suggested.

Krory nodded. "It would."

"She isn't wearing those because she's depressed," a voice declared from the doorway.

Allen jumped, startled. "Master!" He edged further into the room, away from the tall man in the doorway.

Cross Marian smiled. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

Allen gave a nervous laugh. "I suppose."

"You said something about Aminta's clothing, General?" Lenalee looked at him curiously. "Do you know something about her?"

Cross smirked. "As it so happens, I do. I knew her teacher, Yolanda. She'd write me sometimes to ask advice about the girl."

"Do you know what her Innocence is?" Kanda asked.

The smirk widened. "I do."

"Well?" Kanda demanded when Cross made no move to elaborate.

The long-haired man shrugged lazily. "It's unique. Enough so that not very many people know. Yolanda did her best to keep it under wraps."

"What's so special about it?" Allen asked.

"Well, to start off with, it seems like her Innocence is a hybrid of Parasite and Equipment types. After your Innocence changed, Lenalee, Yolanda theorized it could be a variation of the Crystal type, but honestly no one's quite sure. We do know for sure that her Innocence has a good number of Parasitic-type qualities. But it manifests in the form of weapons, so it's a toss up for what type she actually is."

"So you _don't_ know," Kanda said.

The General regarded him with amusement. "Did I say that? _No_," he continued, "I simply said we don't know what exactly _type_ of Innocence she has. I _do_ know the basics of how her Innocence works."

Kanda crossed his arms. "...And?"

Cross grinned. "I'll leave it to her to tell you. Or show you. Whichever comes first." He waved. "See you around." And without another word, he left the lounge.

"Why did he even show up?" Krory wondered. "He didn't actually tell us much of anything."

Allen shrugged. "He told us a little."

"Not enough," Kanda disagreed.

* * *

The next morning Aminta was woken by someone knocking on her door.

"Excuse me? Miss Aminta?" Miranda's voice came through the door, her tone nervous.

She groaned into her pillow. A morning person she was not, especially since she'd gotten next to no sleep thanks to her damned nightmares.

"Miss Aminta?"

She grunted. "...yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Miss Aminta, but you've been assigned to go on a mission."

_What? Already?_ She rolled over. _I just got here. _

"...Miss Aminta?"

She sighed and sat up. "Just a minute. I'll be right out."

She tossed her covers to the side and quickly changed out of her pajamas and into a tank top and jeans. She rubbed her arms self-consciously before shrugging on her sweater.

She opened her door to see Miranda standing in the hallway, wringing her hands anxiously and looking around.

"I'm ready to go now."  
The woman jumped, startled by her sudden emergence. "Uh, um...this way." Miranda smiled nervously. "Follow me, please."

Aminta trailed after Miranda. "What's the mission?"

"We've received reports of Akuma in a town called Harrisburg. You'll be going there with some of the others to look into it."

"Are you coming?" she asked. There was something oddly reassuring about Miranda, despite her jittery behavior.

Miranda shook her head. "No. I've been assigned to investigate something else, with Krory. You'll be going with Allen, Kanda, Lenalee, and Lavi."

"Kanda?" she repeated, dismayed. _We'll end up killing each other instead of the Akuma._

An hour later, as they traipsed through the town of Harrisburg looking for any signs of Akuma, it seemed like that was exactly what was going to happen. Lenalee was doing her best to stop them from fighting, but she wasn't making much progress, especially considering the fact that Lavi and Allen seemed to be taking great pleasure in needling Kanda further; adding fuel to the fire, as it were.

Luckily, before things could escalate, the house they were walking by exploded.

Well, maybe it wasn't so lucky. They all went flying across the street, crashing into a fruit stand.

Kanda swore a blue streak and heaved a broken watermelon away from him.

Aminta meanwhile was trying to get pear juice out of her hair. _This sucks._

"Heads up," Lavi warned, standing up and looking at the burning building.

Emerging from the wreck was a cluster of Akuma.

"They look like Level 3," Lenalee said, brushing off her skirt as stood. "But I think they're a bit weaker than normal."

Allen took a bite out of an apple he'd picked up. "Mm."

Kanda attacked first, flashing from Aminta's side to in front of the Akuma in an instant. He slashed at with his sword. His attack seemed to be the cue for the others as well; Lenalee activated her Dark Boots, Lavi drew out his hammer, and Allen activated his Innocence, which turned out to be his arm. She was surprised by this, and even more surprised when he shouted 'Crown Clown' and dashed forward, his hand now black with long talons. He was also wearing what she could have sworn was a white cowl. _Where the hell did that come from? _

Kanda sliced an Akuma in half. "Are you planning to help us out at all," Kanda asked angrily. "Or just stand there staring?"

"I'm good here, thanks." She waved at him. "You have fun."

He shot her a death glare. "You're unbelievable."

She nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am."

He cursed and went back to hacking apart Akuma.

She was about to snag an orange from the broken fruit cart when an Akuma lunged at her. She dodged, avoiding injury. But the Akuma coming after her, a tall monster with bright red armor and razor sharp teeth, managed to snag her sleeve, tearing away a large strip of cloth.

"Damnit!" she swore. Now part of one of her Innocence tattooes was visible. She scowled at the Akuma. "What a pain in the ass."

"Aminta!" Kanda shouted. "Do something!"

"We're outnumbered!" Lenalee added anxiously as she kicked an Akuma across the street and leapt over another. "If you don't help, we'll-"

"Fine!" she snapped, cutting her off. "I'll help." She shot a glare at Kanda. "You wanted to see my Innocence, right? Well, congratulations. Enjoy the show."

She turned to face the Akuma charging at her. She grabbed what was left of her right sleeve and tore it off at the shoulder. She did the same with her left sleeve, swearing profusely because this was her last good sweater.

She had tattoos running up and down her arms. Her right arm had a chain tattoo spiraling up her arm, running from her wrist to her elbow; from there it went onto her right bicep and connected to the image of a sickle blade; essentially, it was a tattoo of a kusarigama. Her left arm had a tattoo of a dagger on the top of her wrist, while the bottom had boomerang-type weapon; the rest of her lower arm was blank, while her upper arm had a rapier tattoo. She also had a tattoo of a bow and a quiver of arrows on her right shoulder blade, still covered by the remains of her sweater, while the rest of her back was blank.

She held up her right arm, and felt the tingling as the black kusarigama tattoo started to glow around the edges. Then it disappeared from her skin, manifesting in a life-size kusarigama.

The end of the chain wrapped around her arm, and she twirled the rest of the chain, then released it, sending it arcing towards the Akuma. The blade, like all her weapons, followed her will, and went at the intended target, slicing cleaning through the Akuma's neck. It gave a warbled shriek and then disintegrated.

Another Akuma leapt at her; she tugged on the chain and the sickle blade came around and sliced its arms off. A second later Kanda dashed forward and sliced it to ribbons.

"So that's your Innocence?" He asked, looking at her kusarigama.

"No," she answered. "This is only one manifestation of it. This," she spread her arms wide to show her tattoos, "is my Innocence."

"The tattoos are all weapons?" he asked as he cut down an Akuma that was trying to get back up.

"Yep." She hurled her kusarigama across the distance between herself and two more Akuma; they disintegrated as the blade sliced them apart.

"I think that's the last of them," Lavi said, shrinking his hammer back down to a smaller size.

"I'm not sensing any of Akuma around here," Allen concurred, and it was only then that she noticed that his left eye was bright red with some sort of gear around it. As she looked at him, the gear vanished, and eventually the red faded back into his natural silver-gray.

"It's a curse," he explained, giving her a pained smile when he saw her looking. "My eye can tell the difference between Akuma and regular humans before it's obvious, and with the second stage I can sense if they're nearby."

_Huh. Well, that's an advantage, I suppose._ She nodded. "Okay."

"Your Innocence," Lenalee said, coming up to them, her Innocence deactivated to the bangles around her ankles, "It's very interesting."

She shrugged. "I suppose." She deactivated her Innocence and the kusarigama melted back into her skin, the tattoo reappearing. She rubbed at her arms.

"Are you cold?" Lavi asked.

She shook her head. "I'm fine." And she was, temperature-wise. She just didn't like people seeing her arms. She crossed her arms, trying to cover as much skin as possible. "Anyway, I think we can safely say the Akuma rumors were true."

Kanda snorted. "No kidding."

* * *

**A/N: Hello again. :) How was the chapter? I know it was shorter than the first one, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. I know that I personally enjoyed both writing and re-reading the 'Everyone Crashes Into a Fruit Cart' scene. :)**

**Anyway, we got to see Aminta's Innocence this chapter. I tried really hard to make it unique, you know? I hope I succeeded, without making her seem overpowered...because she's really not. It'll come up later in the story, so I don't want to spoil it know, but I just want to reassure everyone that there are disadvantages to her being able to materialize different weapons, and her Innocence isn't a Mary Sue trait. At least, I don't see it that way. XD You're welcome to tell me otherwise if you so wish. :D  
**

**Oh, also, in regards to chapter titles, they're typically going to be bits taken from plays or poetry, sometimes songs. Though the title of this chapter is just random. XD Just in case anyone was curious. :D**

**Anyhow, review please! Reviews = faster updates. Well...not really. Reviews = faster writing. To get faster _updates_ you need to vote in the polls I put up on my profile page; I update my stories in order of which ones get the most votes. The poll's up right now, so go vote!  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Lonely Thoughts

**A/N: Aah, I feel sort of guilty. I should really be working on my other fics...people are gonna start waving pitchforks at me again if I'm not careful. XD Oh well. I'm having a lot of fun with this story right now...And I will definitely update my other stories soon...so I suppose it's okay. :D I need something to keep me cheery in my current situation, and this story somehow manages to do that. :)  
**

**Also, be sure to check my profile regularly for my announcements. And normally I'd say to to vote in the 'Which stories do you wanted updated?' poll...but since I haven't really updated any of my other stories, there's not much point. XD You're welcome to go read the other stories of course. XD  
**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review when you're done, please!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Lonely Thoughts

"Please, do us the honor of staying the night," the mayor was saying. "I insist."

He'd been saying the same thing over and over again, ever since they'd tried leaving Harrisburg.

So it was no surprise that both Kanda and Aminta were losing their patience with the man.

"Fine, already!" Kanda snapped. "We'll stay the night." He stormed off towards the inn.

"What an adamant guy..." Aminta muttered, looking at the mayor. "I can't decide if I want to compliment him or decapitate him..."

"You really are a lot like Kanda, aren't you?" Allen looked at her curiously.

She snorted. "No. We're nothing alike."

Allen shrugged, smiling. "If you say so."

"She's at least a little different from Kanda," Lenalee remarked. "You haven't had a single fight with her yet. You fight with Kanda all the time."

"Ah, but it's so entertaining~" Lavi said with a grin.

Lenalee snorted. "Let's see if you think so the next time Kanda tries slicing you up."

Lavi rolled his eyes. "I'm not worried."

* * *

"It looks like we're sharing a room," Lenalee said hesitantly, hovering in the doorway.

"Looks like it," Aminta agreed, rummaging in the wardrobe. _If I'm lucky, someone left an old coat in here or something..._Anything with sleeves would do.

She came up with a tattered long-sleeved shirt. Frayed at the edges, it had holes along the collar and smelled like mothballs. But the sleeves were intact and hole-free, which was all she really cared about. She slipped it on, and heard Lenalee's exclamation of surprise.

"Why are you putting that on?" the other girl asked, looking at her with startled eyes.

"It has sleeves," she said simply, tugging the cuffs of the shirt down as far as possible.

"Do you not like your arms?" Lenalee asked.

Aminta made a face. "Do you think I'd be wearing long sleeves all the time if I did?"

"But your marks...they're sort of cool, aren't they?"

Aminta stared at her. "What?"

"Well, I just mean...they're unique, right? And they're pretty interesting to look at."

Aminta wasn't quite sure how to respond; she'd never thought of her tattoos in an overly positive manner. Tattoos in general weren't particularly common, and for a girl her age to have not just one, but multiple markings...It wasn't just unheard of, it was practically disgraceful. She'd been called 'unladylike' more times than she could count.

"I'm glad you think they're interesting," she said flatly.

Lenalee flushed at her monotone. "Aminta-"

"I'm going out," she interrupted, snatching her coin purse from her bag and heading for the door. "Don't wait up."

* * *

She ended up sitting on the roof of town hall, watching the clouds drift across the sky, illuminated from behind by the crescent moon. She fiddled with her coin purse. It was colorful like a patchwork quilt, made out of different pieces of cloth. Angelina and Adriana had made it as a present for the first birthday she'd spent with them and Antonio. She'd still been a little shy around them then, and they given her a handmade gift to help her feel more comfortable around them.

She looked down at the cobblestones streets of Harrisburg; she could see almost the whole town perched where she was. And since it was late at night, there were no people about. The only light came from the moon and the windows of a tavern across the courtyard. Occasionally she could see someone walk by the window on the inside; probably a barmaid tidying up, she reasoned.

She'd actually planned on stopping by the tavern; that was why she'd taken her coin purse with her. But she'd changed her mind halfway there, and had ended up across the courtyard and three stories up instead.

"Aminta? Are you alright?"

She jumped, startled, her dagger tattoo phasing off of her skin and into her hand as she spun around.

"Sorry, sorry." Allen held up his hands with an apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She relaxed her stance, letting the dagger melt back into her body; she felt a slight tingle as the tattoo reappeared on the top of her left wrist.

"Your tattoos really are all weapons, then?" Allen asked curiously.

She nodded. "All of them. I get new ones every time my Innocence grows stronger, too."

He smiled. "That's really amazing, Aminta."

She blinked. "It is?"

He nodded. "Definitely."

She bit her lip, looking at him. "You...really mean that, don't you?"

He frowned slightly, confused. "Of course I do." He sat down next to her. "Can I sit here?"

She smiled a bit. "Aren't you already sitting?"

He laughed. "I suppose I am, aren't I?" He looked out over the town. "It's a nice view, isn't it?"

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Yeah."

They sat together in comfortable silence, like they were good friends who'd known each other for years. That in and of itself surprised Aminta. She'd never felt so comfortable with another person before, with the exception of the traveling merchants and Yolanda. She wondered if Yolanda's death had changed her somehow, made her want to connect with people, or if this easiness between them was just Allen. Somehow she felt it was the latter. She was pretty much a closed off person by nature, while Allen seemed to be a mostly easygoing person, albeit one with a serious hero complex. Martyr without a cause, Yolanda would say.

"Your teacher..." Allen said unexpectedly. "What was she like?"

She slanted her eyes at him, surprised that he'd brought it up. "Why do you ask?"

"Well...My teacher, Cross, mentioned that he knew her."

"Cross Marian?" she asked, startled.

"You know him?"

She gave a wry smirk. "I know _of_ him. Yolanda used to rant on and on about what a crazy spender he is."

Allen gave a strained laugh. "She's not wrong. Master certainly has expensive tastes. And an allergy to paying his bills."

She smiled. "That sounds...interesting."

He made a face. "It's traumatizing."

She chuckled. "I believe it." She bit her lip then continued. "Yolanda wasn't much like Cross, I suppose. They were friends when they were younger, I guess, but it was more of an opposites attract sort of thing, you know?" She sighed. "Yolanda was kind and compassionate, but also a stern teacher. She wouldn't go easy on me during training...And she could be gentle if someone was hurting, but she wouldn't coddle you if she thought you were just pitying yourself. I guess...she was the perfect teacher for someone like me." She gave a sad sort of smile.

"You really miss her, don't you?" Allen asked softly.

Aminta exhaled. "...Yeah. I guess I do."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Allen said sympathetically. "I know what it's like to lose someone precious to you and I-" He broke off, and stood up suddenly.

"Allen?" She angled her head up. "What's wrong?"

"Akuma," he said as his left eye reacted, glowing red while the strange gear materialized around it.

She was on her feet in a heartbeat, her kusarigama melting out of her skin and wrapping around her shoulders. "Where?"

"Inside the tavern. They're coming outside now."

And they were. Aminta watched as four apparently drunken men stumbled out of the tavern, ushered away by a worn-out barmaid. "Allen?"

"Three are Akuma. The first one isn't," he answered, just as three of the men bloated and transformed into Akuma. The barmaid screamed, falling backwards into the tavern, while the fourth man just stared on in horror.

"I'll take care of the Akuma," she said, grabbing a handful of chain. "You get the humans stashed somewhere safe."

"Be careful," was all Allen said before jumping from the rooftop and hurrying to get the fourth man and the barmaid away from the Akuma. The demons weren't at all pleased with this turn of events, and turned to attack the white-haired Exorcist.

Which proved to be a bad decision on their part. The first of the Akuma was sliced into pieces as it tried to shoot Allen. The explosion of its demise distracted the other two monsters from Allen, who was now rushing away with the frightened humans, the man running shortly behind him while Allen carried the unconscious barmaid over his shoulder.

_I can't believe she fainted_, Aminta thought, making a face as she dodged the second Akuma's bullets and wrapped it in chains. _Seriously._ _Who faints just from seeing an Akuma? _She hadn't even done something like that when she'd fought her first Akuma. And she'd been just a kid then, so a fainting spell really wouldn't have been unwarranted.

The Akuma bound in her chains roared in fury. "RELEASE ME!"

She snorted. "Hell no."

"EXORCIST BITCH!"

She _tsk_ed. "Watch your language, monster. I may take offense."

It gave a stomach-churning laugh. "YOU SHALL ALL DIE!"

She smiled widely, but it wasn't a nice sort of smile. Instead of friendliness or cheer, it contained anger and fury, and promised violence. "How funny. I was about to say the same thing to you."

The Akuma snarled but before it could say anything else, she tightened the chains binding it with a flicker of her thoughts, and then lunged forward, the rapier tattoo on her left arm materializing into her left hand, as her right hand was holding the chain of her kusarigama.

As the Akuma disintegrated (with her weapons it always seemed to be a toss up whether the Akuma exploded or just fell apart into dust), she willed her two weapons to melt back into her skin, which they did. Without looking, she summoned her boomerang from its respective tattoo (its life-size form could range in size from an average boomerang to three feet long on each leg of the obtuse-angled V), and threw it hard.

It flew through the air, making a soft _thrum-thrum_ sound as it twisted through the air. It hit its mark, the final Akuma, and cut it in half. This Akuma exploded, and the resulting shock wave made her boomerang wobble a bit as it spun back to her.

She caught it easily; it could slice through anything, but would never cut her, no matter how fast it was flying through the air. She felt the tingle as she reabsorbed the boomerang back into her body, and turned to survey the end result of the unexpected Akuma encounter.

"Aminta!"

She turned to see Lenalee and Lavi hopping across the rooftops towards her.

"Are you alright?" Lenalee asked worriedly, at the same time Lavi asked "What happened?".

"Allen sensed some Akuma," she said, shrugging. "It's no big deal."

"Allen?" Lenalee repeated, looking around. "Where is he?"

"The Akuma were trying to kill a couple humans, so he went to get them to safety."

"That's just like him, isn't it?" Lenalee smiled. "Always focused on saving people."

Lavi nodded. "Yeah." He looked at the dust from the Akuma that had disintegrated. "Looks like you managed pretty good on your own," he said to Aminta.

She shrugged again. "It really wasn't a big deal."

"It didn't occur to you to call for back-up?" a cold voice asked.

She turned her head slightly to see Kanda standing a short distance away, looking faintly irritated.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Honestly, no, I didn't think once about calling for help. There were only three of them, and they weren't high-leveled or anything." She crossed her arms. "Would _you_ have called for help?"

"No."

She smirked. "I didn't think so."

"Looks like you got them all, huh?" Allen hopped over from a nearby building. "Good job, Aminta."

"Thanks," she said. "I would have saved some for you but..."

"Oh no, it's fine," he said with a laugh. "I'm just glad you beat them without getting hurt."

She gave him a crooked grin. "It'd take a lot more than that to take me down."

"Tch," was all Kanda said. Allen just smiled.

* * *

"I still think she's a brat," Kanda said the next day. They'd painstakingly scoured the entire town for any more Akuma and had turned up nothing; as a result, they had thanked the mayor for his hospitality and made preparations to depart. Before they'd left, new orders had come in on their golems (Aminta's was pale purple and named Lily; she typically left Lily in her bag or in her jacket pocket if she were wearing a jacket). Allen and Lenalee had been ordered to go to a town called Kingstown that was some hundred miles away, while Kanda, Lavi, and Aminta had been asked to investigate some disappearances in a farming community twenty miles south of Harrisburg.

At that moment, Kanda and Lavi were waiting for Aminta, who had insisted on visiting a clothes store before they left town. She'd assured them she wouldn't take long but...

"It's been an hour," Kanda said, irritated.

"Oh, come on, Yu." Lavi gave him an easy smile. "I'm sure she'll be here soon. And anyway, what about running a little late makes her a brat""

He crossed his arms. "Don't use my first name. And it's not the lateness," he continued. "That just makes her inconsiderate."

"Well, what then?"

Kanda just snorted.

Lavi rolled his eyes. Typical Kanda. "Look, she's really not so bad, you know? Just give it a little time, I'm sure you'll get used to her eventually."

"Tch."

"You two are a lot alike," Lavi continued, ignoring his comrade's death glare. "I bet you'd get along really well if you tried."

Kanda didn't answer, just shook his head.

Lavi sighed, then perked up. "Ah, here she comes."

Aminta was walking down the street towards them, dressed in new clothes. She'd purchased four new long-sleeved shirts (three of which she'd stuffed into her knapsack), two tank tops (for the exceedingly rare days when she went without sleeves), and a tailored overcoat (the coat was why she was running so late; since she'd wanted it to fit her well, she'd let the tailor take her measurements and adjust the coat accordingly).

"You realize you're over an hour late," Kanda said angrily, glaring at her.

She looked at him, mismatched eyes flashing angrily. "What of it?"

"We have somewhere to be," Kanda growled. "Or do you not care about that?"

"Not particularly," she answered honestly. She'd been having trouble caring about much of anything since Yolanda's death. "Do you?"

He glared at her.

"Uhh...You guys..." Lavi gave a nervous wave. "We should probably get going if we want to get there by nightfall."

Kanda and Aminta continued to glare at each other for another minute. Then Kanda made what Aminta was quickly coming to regard as his trademark sound, 'tch', before spinning on his heel and stalking towards the town entrance. Aminta gritted her teeth and followed after, hands stuffed into her jacket pockets along with Lily and her coin purse.

"Where are we going, anyway?" she asked of nobody in particular.

"Weren't you listening?" Kanda snapped.

"Nope."

Lavi hurriedly broke into the conversation before it deteriorated into another fight. "There have been a lot of disappearances recently in a farming community south of here. The village is called Crone's Vale, or something like that."

"Sounds cheery," she commented.

Lavi laughed. "It is a sort of creepy name, isn't it? In any case, there are too many disappearances for it to be normal. And with the Akuma sightings in this area...well, the Order thinks it would be a good idea to go have a look around."

She nodded. "Okay. Are we meeting a Finder there, or will it just be the three of us?"

Lavi shrugged. "No idea. Why, do you think we need a Finder?"

She shook her head. "No. The less people the better."

He frowned at her. "Why?"

"I'm not really a people person," she said matter-of-factly.

Kanda snorted, which she decidedly ignored.

Lavi just looked at her. "Oh, come on. I'm sure that's not true. There have to be some people you get along with, right?" He gave her a charming smile.  
She ignored it. "I'm better off alone." _I can't afford to lose anyone else._ And without further ado she turned to look straight ahead, seemingly intent upon walking down the road, her face expressionless.

* * *

**And...that's Chapter 3. How was it? Enjoyable, cruddy? Too short, too long? I seriously love hearing from you guys; any and all feedback is highly appreciated. I also personally thank everyone who reviews, favorites, and adds this story to their alerts on my profile; the list is kinda huge now, since I have a couple really popular stories, but the list is sorted according to story if you ever want to hop over and see your name on my profile (or I suppose you could just use, y'know, Control + F). And if your name's not there, then it's just because I'm behind on updating the list, which happens sometimes, unfortunately. *sweat drop ***

**Anyway, next up is Chapter 4. It'll be interesting, I'm sure. :D We'll get to see some interaction between Aminta and Lavi, but as I've said before, they're not going to hop straight into romance, you know? The vibe is definitely there, but (Aminta being Aminta) nothing's going to come of it until something really serious happens. And I'm talking, like, near-death-experience serious; something to get her to come out from behind her emotional barriers a bit, you know? So be looking forward to that; I already wrote a chapter for it, actually, just because the ideas were bouncing around in my head. I think it's Chapter 7? Well, regardless, it's not for a little while. XD**

**Anyhow, review please!**


	4. Chapter 4 : Beneath the Surface

**A/N: Greetings, all, and welcome to Chapter 4.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Beneath the Surface

"Is that the place?" she asked in a bored tone as they stood on a hill of golden grass overlooking a sprawling plain of farmland, dotted with clusters of houses.

"Yep." Lavi nodded. "Crone's Vale."

"Looks peaceful," she commented. "Almost too peaceful," she added thoughtfully. "Where is everyone? It's the middle of the summer, they should be working in the fields."

"They're hiding," Lavi said.

"Hiding?" she repeated in disbelief.

The Bookman heir shrugged. "People are going missing. Wouldn't you hide?"

She shook her head. "Never. What about you, Kanda?"

"Tch." The long-haired Exorcist started off down the hill without another word.

_I guess that's a no_, she thought, smirking. She turned to Lavi and swept out an arm. "Shall we?"

He gave her a crooked smile. "Let's go."

* * *

"We should split up," Kanda said once they reached the level ground of the plains. "I'll go to those buildings over there." He pointed to a cluster of houses a short distance away. "You two go check out those over there." He indicated two more clusters. "Meet up again in an hour, under that tree." He nodded to a massive oak tree nestled in between fields of wheat. Then he strode off without a backward glance.

Lavi sighed. "That's just like you, Yu, taking off on your own."

"Shut up," was all Kanda said, still not looking back.

Aminta smiled crookedly. "This teamwork thing. You guys got it down to a science, it seems."

Lavi returned the smile. "Don't worry about him. He's just like that sometimes."

She shrugged. "I'm not worried. Like I said, I'm better off on my own anyway. Less liabilities that way."

"L-liabilities?" Lavi stammered, looking shocked.

She nodded, but didn't elaborate. "I'll check out that one." And she proceeded to mimic Kanda, walking off without another word.

"You can't always do everything all on your own, you know," the redhead called after her.

"Watch me."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, she'd searched around the group of houses (there were about five; six if you counted what seemed to be a deserted shack a short distance from the others) and turned up nothing. Of course, it didn't help that no one was letting her in.

"Excuse me?" she called, pounding on the wooden door. "If it's not too much trouble, may I please have a moment of your time?"

No answer.

"It's extremely important," she added, thumping on the door again.

Still nothing, although she could hear rustling on the inside of the house.

"It's in regards to the recent disappearances," she shouted, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Silence. And then...the door creaked as it was opened slightly, and a slim face with high cheekbones and large hazel eyes looked out suspiciously.

"Who are you?" the young woman asked suspiciously.

"My name is Aminta, and I'm an Exorcist of the Black Order. I was sent here to investigate the disappearances."  
"You're here to help us?" the woman asked hopefully.

Aminta shifted uncomfortably. "I'll do what I can."

Her vague promise seemed to mean the world to the thin woman behind the door; her face lit up like the sky at sunrise. "Please, come inside!" She stepped back, pulling the door open. "My name is Bellatrix, but you can call me Bella." She bobbed her head.

Aminta bowed at the waist then went inside. "It's very nice to meet you, Bella."

Bella seemed to be in her late-twenties, but on the thin side. Her hazel eyes were matched with dark blonde hair and thin pink lips; she was dressed in a simple peasant's dress made out of dark green cloth.

"Do you live here by yourself?" Aminta asked, surveying the inside of the house. It was sparsely furnished but had a homey feel; it reminded her of the cottage she'd lived in with her parents.

Bella shook her head. "I live here with my brother, but..."

She turned around from examining the pictures on the fireplace mantel. "But?"

"He's one of the ones who's gone missing," Bella answered in a small voice.

"...I'm sorry," she said, offering the woman what she hoped was a sympathetic smile.

"You're going to find him, aren't you? And all the others who disappeared, right? You'll find them?"

"..."

"Miss Aminta?"

"...I'll do what I can," she said, repeating her 'promise' from earlier. "But first I have some questions to ask you."

Bella bit her lip, but nodded. "Okay."

"Aside from the disappearances, has there been anything unusual going on? Maybe someone died, and then strange things started happening? Or maybe someone's sighted a monster of some sort? Can you think of anything like that happening recently?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "No, not really...Jonathan from down the way lost his son to pneumonia last month, and then he vanished, too. In fact, that empty house down the road is his. Aside from that, though..." She bit her lip, thoughtful, then shook her head. "No, that's all. "

"How old was his son?"  
"Only four," Bella said sadly. "It was so tragic."

"How was Jonathan after the boy's death?"

Bella looked at her. "What do you mean? His son had just died! He was inconsolable, of course."

_Of course_, she thought grimly. "Was Jonathan the first person to go missing?"

Bella looked startled. "Well, yes, but I don't...what does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," she sighed, and stood up. "Thank you for your time. I'll take it from here."

"W-wait, you're leaving?"

"I have work to do," she answered immediately, reaching for the door.

"Wait!" Bella cried as Aminta left the house and started off down the road. "Please, wait!" The woman bustled after her. "It's not safe to go out by yourself!"

Aminta stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "I can look after myself."

"Please don't go," Bella begged. "You'll be killed."

Aminta snorted. "I doubt it." Then something crossed her mind, and she turned around. "This valley...why is called Crone's Vale?"

Bella seemed taken aback by the sudden change in conversation. "Wh-what?"

"Why is this place called that?" she asked again. "Why does it have that name?"

Bella blinked, confused by her line of questioning, but answered. "It's an old story. Back when the first settlers came to this valley, there was no one living here, except for one person."

"A crone," Aminta guessed.

"Yes," Bella said, nodding. "There was an old woman, supposedly a witch of some kind. There was one settler, however, who seemed to think she was something more than that, even. He wrote a journal...there isn't much left of it now...but he theorized that the old woman was part spirit, or something of that variety. That she was tied to the power of the land somehow."

Aminta furrowed her brow. "How would that matter?"

"Well, there was a lot of trouble for the settlers when they first arrived here, you see. The old crone didn't want them here; she said it was her land, and they weren't welcome on it."

"What happened?"

"Lots of little things, and then some larger incidents. There some deaths with suspicious circumstances. And other things...strange things, like sudden sinkholes appearing from nowhere, on patches of land claimed by some of the men who angered the old woman."

"And then?"

"The woman died," Bella said simply.

Aminta stared at her. "That's it?" she blurted. "The old hag just up and died? And everything went back to normal?"

Bella gave a slight shrug. "I don't really know; there may have been more to it than just that. I have the old journal, but it doesn't make very much sense towards the end..."

The Exorcist looked at her. "Why do _you_ have the journal?"

Bella flushed. "That settler in the story was my ancestor."

_Huh. Interesting. _"Can I borrow that journal?" she asked casually, as if she didn't care one way or the other.

"Uh, yes, of course, but why...I mean, it's just an old story," Bella said, looking confused.

"I'll explain later," Aminta said. _Maybe. _

Bella bit her lip, but nodded. "Wait here," she said, and then hurried back into her house. She emerged a few moments later with a battered leather bound diary. "Please be careful with it," the blonde woman pleaded. "It's been in my family for generations."

"I'll take good care of it," Aminta assured her.

* * *

"Do you think something happened to her?" Lavi asked worriedly, pacing in front of the oak tree. "It's been almost two hours, and she still hasn't showed."

"Tch," Kanda said, crossing his arms. "Running late seems to be a hobby of hers."

"Not this late though," the Bookman said, looking anxious. "Should we go look for her?"

"Don't bother," the Japanese Exorcist said, nodding towards a smudge bobbing up the hill. "Here comes her golem."

"Lily," Lavi called out as the pale purple golem flew over. "Is everything alright? Where's Aminta?"

The golem fluttered around Lavi's head and then hovered in front of his face. A second later, Lily opened her mouth to project a recording of Aminta; she was leaning against a building of some kind with what looked like a book in her hand.

"_Hey guys, it's me,"_ the projection said. _"You're probably wondering where the hell I am, right? Well, don't worry, nothing's happened to me; I'm perfectly fine."_

"Tch," Kanda snorted. "Like I'd worry about you."

"Shh," Lavi said, waving a hand at him. "I'm trying to listen."

Kanda rolled his eyes, but obliged.

"_Anyway,"_ the message continued, _"there's definitely at least one Akuma here. Some kid died about a month ago, and the father was so grief-stricken...well, you can guess what happened then."_

They could indeed. The powerful grief of someone mourning a lost loved one drew the Millennium Earl like blood drew sharks.

The projection of Aminta heaved a sigh. _"I don't know what level it'll be at by now, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was a two or three."_

"What?" Lavi was shocked. "No way."

The recording continued as if he hadn't interrupted. _"As far as I can tell, the kid's the only one who's been turned into an Akuma. Which means he's responsible for all the disappearances around here." _In the recording, Aminta kicked at a pebble on the ground, sending it skittering out of the projected image.

"_If he's killed all of them, then he's leveled up quite a bit. And there's something else, too..." _She bit her lip, looking thoughtful. _"But I'm not sure of all the details yet, so I'm gonna think it over some more."_ She hefted the book. _"Hopefully this'll have the answers I'm looking for." _She turned away for a moment, as if looking at someone who was out of view. _"Bella says that there's an abandoned mine about a mile to the east of here, from when the settlers tried to strike it rich. A lot of the people who disappeared went past or near the mine before they vanished, so I think you should look there if you plan on going after the Akuma."_

"Bella?" Lavi repeated. "Who's Bella?"

"Who cares?" Kanda responded flatly. "Pay attention."

_You're one to talk_, Lavi thought with a wry smile, but turned his attention back to the recording.

"_Anyway, you guys head to the mine, and I'll catch up later, okay?"_

"Tch. You're just trying to get out of working..." Kanda muttered.

"_And I'm not shirking my duties,"_ she added, almost as an afterthought. _"If that's what you're thinking."_

Lavi chuckled, and noticed that even Kanda was wearing an amused smirk. Then the projection of Aminta spoke, saying something neither of them expected.

"_Be careful when you go after this Akuma, okay?"_ Aminta plucked at a loose thread on her jacket sleeve, seeming intent on looking everywhere but at them (well, technically everywhere but Lily from the time of the recording, but the effect was the same). _"Like I said, I think there may be something else going on here...something that's making the Akuma even stronger than normal, so...don't get killed, alright? I'll beat the crap out of both of you if you do." _And then the recording ended.

Lavi stared at where Lily's projection had been for a long moment after the images had vanished.

"What are doing?" Kanda said irritably. "Come on, let's go."

Lavi blinked. "Huh? Go where?"

"The mine, of course," Kanda said, sighing as if he was being extremely patient.

"Don't sigh at me," Lavi chided, but followed after his friend.

* * *

Aminta meanwhile sat in the abandoned shack near Bella's house. Bella had tried to get Aminta to stay at her house, but the offer had made the Exorcist feels many different kinds of awkward, and she'd declined.

The solitude of the abandoned shack was better for her concentration, anyway.

Sitting at the battered kitchen table of Jonathan's abandoned house, she flipped through the page's of Bella's ancestor's journal, trying to puzzle out the mystery of Crone's Vale.

_There's more..._she thought, reading page after page of first-hand accounts. _Something more than just the Akuma. _The memory of when she'd first looked over the valley came back to her. There was something...wrong. Off, somehow.

Sure, it had looked peaceful, but she'd got the feeling of something lurking, just below the surface, like an ant-lion waiting for its prey.

_What is it...what's wrong with this place? What's beneath the surface? _She bit her lip, going over what she'd been told.

There was an old woman, supposedly a witch of some kind, Bella had said.

There was a lot of trouble for the settlers when they first arrived here, you see. The old crone didn't want them here; she said it was her land, and they weren't welcome on it.

There some deaths with suspicious circumstances.

And other things...strange things.

_Strange things, huh?_ She skimmed through the middle of the journal, then stopped on the last few pages. She read them, re-read them, and then sighed.

"I see...So that's what happened."

* * *

"What the hell is going on here?!" Kanda snarled as the demon blasted both him and Lavi across the antechamber and into a pile of rocks. "Why is it so strong?!"

Lavi hefted his hammer, panting. "Aminta said it would be stronger."

"No," Kanda snapped, bisecting a boulder the Akuma had hurled at them. "She said it would be a higher level. But this thing," he slashed through another flying chunk of stone, "isn't higher than a level two. I'm sure of it."

"If that's the case," Lavi dodged some debris falling from the ceiling, "Why are we having so much trouble?"

"How the hell should I know?!"

"DIE, EXORCISTS!" The Akuma screamed, appearing in front of them suddenly. "FEEL MY FURY!"

"Screw you," a feminine voice said calmly, just before a boomerang zipped past, slicing through the air between the two Exorcists and the Akuma.

Lavi spun on his heel, and grinned. "Aminta!"

She caught the boomerang and gave a cheeky salute. "Hey there."

"You're late," Kanda remarked.

"I'm good at it, aren't I?"

"Tch."

She smirked, but her expression became serious as she looked past them at the Akuma.

"I wasn't sure before...but I know who you are now."

The Akuma shrieked furiously. "YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

Aminta looked back tranquilly, unfazed. "At first I thought you were just Jonathan's son, turned into an Akuma. Nothing out of the ordinary." She gave a careless shrug. "But," she twirled her boomerang, "then Bella told me those old stories, about how this valley got its name. And it got me thinking, about the old lady who they called a witch. About how she supposedly just died one day, and everything carried on peacefully."

"BE SILENT!" The Akuma bellowed, lunging at her.

Aminta vaulted over the monster easily, landing on the other side of the antechamber. She continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "And then Bella gave me this journal." She pulled it out of her jacket pocket, and Kanda and Lavi recognized it as the book she'd been holding in the recording. "It's the diary of one of the first settlers. He says some pretty interesting things, especially towards the end of his records." She gave the Akuma an inscrutable look. "Shall I read some of it for you?"

"DIE!"

She dodged again, and flipped open the journal to end. "_Tonight I am weighed down by a terrible burden_," she recited, reading from the diary. "_Hardly an hour ago I was convinced to accompany Samuel's hunting party...but to my horror, it was not elk and deer they were pursuing. 'We shall kill the witch,' Samuel told me. 'And burn her hovel to the ground as retribution for the terror she has caused us'. I tried to convince him to turn aside from his vengeance. Is this not her land, I said to him. Are we not the trespassers here? But he would not see reason, and also would not accept my remaining behind while the other men of our group accompanied him. 'You must come,' he said. 'And bear witness to the extermination of a monster'_."

"STOP!" The Akuma wailed. "BE SILENT!"

But Aminta continued reading from the journal remorselessly, not faltering for a moment. "_I am so ashamed of what happened...We killed her. The old woman. Yes, she wielded powers beyond our knowing...but was that truly a just cause for her murder?...Upon our return to the encampment, we told our families that we had passed by her home on our hunting trip, and found her inside, already dead...I looked my wife in the eyes and lied to her about what transpired. She is a gentle soul, and I fear what she would have thought of me had she known...But now...Now none of that matters. For I have discovered the truth...I always wondered, why there continued to be strange deaths and accidents, even after the witch's death. But now I know..._"

"SILENCE!"

"_The witch's spirit lives on_," Aminta intoned, looking up from the journal, mismatched eyes unreadable. She watched the Akuma for another long moment, then tucked the journal back into her coat pocket. "You've been haunting this valley for a long time, haven't you?" She sighed. "It must have been a perfect opportunity when Jonathan made his deal with the Earl. As soon as the Akuma was born, you took over, right? A vengeful spirit possessing an Akuma's body..." She snorted. "That has to be a first." She shook her head. "Hasn't it been long enough? These people," she gestured to the mine entrance and by extension the farmhouses, "They may be the descendants of the ones who killed you, but they're not guilty of your murder. Why stay here and keep killing?"

"THIS LAND...IT'S MINE," the Akuma snarled. Or rather, the Crone's spirit in the Akuma's body. "IT BELONGS TO ME!"

Aminta shook her head, scowling. "It doesn't work like that. Land doesn't belong to people, not really. And saying otherwise is just stupid." She shook her head again. "Ridiculous."

"I WOULDN'T EXPECT SOMEONE LIKE YOU TO UNDERSTAND," the Akuma growled. "HAVE YOU EVER BELONGED, LITTLE EXORCIST?"

Aminta didn't say anything at first, just looked at the Akuma. Then she gave a wild grin.

"Just hurry up and die already," she said, her tone deceptively cheerful. She heaved her boomerang at the possessed Akuma. It dodged the flying weapon, but in doing so moved straight into the path of her second attack, with her kusarigama. The chains wrapped around it, preventing any further movement in any direction. "Kanda," she shouted. "Lavi!"

They appeared at her side in an instant.

"Finish it," she said in a low voice.

"I don't take orders from you," Kanda griped, but went anyway.

Lavi patted her on the shoulder then darted after the Japanese Exorcist. "Batter up!" he called, swinging at the possessed Akuma. His hammer bashed the monster backwards, where it was promptly slashed to pieces from behind by Kanda.

The Akuma, possessed by the old witch's spirit, shrieked and then exploded.

* * *

**A/N: Well, how was it? Good, bad, so-so? Review, and let me know!  
**


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